The Nighthawk–Chopaka Border Crossing connects the town of Loomis, Washington and

Cawston, British Columbia Cawston is an unincorporated small community in the south Similkameen Valley in British Columbia, Canada, with a 2005 population of 973. The community was named for R.L. Cawston, a pioneer rancher and magistrate who settled in the area in the ...

on the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

. Similkameen Road on the American side joins Nighthawk Road on the Canadian side.

Railway

In April 1907, the rail head of the VV&E, a Great Northern Railway subsidiary, advanced westward across the border. A modest train service operated over the following decades. When the Armstrong bridge, which was about north of the crossing, washed out in a 1972 flood, cross-border rail service ceased permanently.

Canadian side

A customs office existed at Chopaka during the summer of 1861, before relocating to

Osoyoos Osoyoos (, ) is the southernmost town in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia between Penticton and Omak. The town is north of the United States border in the Washington State and is adjacent to the Osoyoos Indian reserve. The origin of ...

. The next office opened in 1907 for railway traffic but relocated to the

Keremeos Keremeos () is a village in British Columbia, Canada. The name originated from the Similkameen dialect of the Okanagan language word "Keremeyeus" meaning "creek which cuts its way through the flats" referring to Keremeos Creek which flows down fr ...

preventative station the following year. That office closed in 1917 but reopened in 1940. During the earlier years, a Keremeos officer would travel to Chopka to clear any livestock movements across the border. The Similkameen office opened on the rail line a short distance north of the border in 1917 but closed in 1940. In 1959, the Chopaka station was reopened at the road crossing, which is about east of the rail crossing. This road crossing existed by at least the early 1930s.

US side

The customs office seems to have opened in 1907. For many years, the Nighthawk trail was popular for liquor smuggling during

Prohibition in the United States The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, an ...

. In 1929, when border patrols and their propensity to fire weapons increased, the smuggling activity moved farther eastward. Chopaka Road was parallel to the rail line and crossed the border. In 1952, the Nighthawk border station closed. The location of this station is unclear but it may have been back from the border at the

Nighthawk The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, which is a grouping of 92 species of medium-sized birds with long wings and short bills specialized for eating insects. The nighthawk's ...

settlement to handle both road and rail traffic. The opening date of the existing road border station is unclear, but likely predated the Canadian station. Initially, a trailer at the border housed the inspection services. In 1962, the US built a small brick border station at this site. Around this time, the US installed a locked gate on the Chopaka Road a mile south of the border. Averaging just 28 vehicles per day in 2009, the crossing was the least used land border in Washington state at the time. In 2012, a new facility, which employs advanced technologies, replaced the former border station. The area west of the station is the most remote part of the contiguous US border, passing through the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

. The next border crossing is westward at

Sumas–Huntingdon Border Crossing The Sumas–Huntingdon Border Crossing connects Sumas, Washington and Abbotsford, British Columbia on the Canada–US border. Washington State Route 9 on the American side joins British Columbia Highway 11 on the Canadian side. Terrain The cr ...

. However, many hikers on the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

cross between

North Cascades National Park North Cascades National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in Washington (state), Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the No ...

and

Manning Park E.C. Manning Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is usually referred to as Manning Park, although that nomenclature is also used to refer to the resort and ski area at the park's core. The park covers 83,671 hect ...

without reporting at the nearest official port of entry as legally required.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nighthawk-Chopaka Border Crossing Canada–United States border crossings 1907 establishments in British Columbia 1907 establishments in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Okanogan County, Washington

Railway

Canadian side

US side

See also

References

Sources